In this episode of Builders Wanted, we sit down with Dugan Winkie, Head of Commercial Strategy at Cedar, to explore how AI is reshaping one of the most emotionally complex industries: healthcare. From frustrating call center experiences to opaque billing processes, Dugan breaks down how Cedar is reimagining patient engagement with conversational AI, real-time data, and a builder’s mindset.

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Key Takeaways:

• Strategic innovation involves closely monitoring market feedback, especially given significant operational cost constraints, regulatory uncertainties, and budget cuts.
• The use of conversational AI ensures that patients receive timely and accurate assistance, which reduces dependency on call centers and enhances the overall patient experience.
• Health systems must balance using innovative technologies while adhering to strict regulatory frameworks to ensure a seamless and secure patient financial experience.

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“ There is a lot of information silos, simultaneously, where we're expecting patients to know how to navigate a very complex system.  And we think conversational AI and agentic AI is a great manifestation where we can leverage a lot of our core competency and network connections to help answer those patients' questions in a way that is delightful.” – Dugan Winkie

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Episode Timestamps:

‍*(02:10) - The boldest thing Cedar is building right now

‍*(03:52) - How Cedar is using AI to humanize the patient financial experience

‍*(14:24) - Recent patient behaviors that pushed Cedar to rethink the billing experience

‍*(23:11) - How Cedar designed its AI agent, Kora, to be helpful and empathetic to patients

‍*(31:10) - How Cedar is balancing AI innovation and healthcare regulations

‍*(35:40) - How AI has already improved the patient journey

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Links:

Connect with Dugan on LinkedIn

Connect with Kailey on LinkedIn

Learn more about Caspian Studios

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Sponsor

Builders Wanted is brought to you by Twilio – the Customer Engagement Platform that helps builders turn real-time data into meaningful customer experiences. More than 320,000 businesses trust Twilio to transform signals into connections—and connections into revenue. Ready to build what’s next? Learn more at twilio.com.